Chapter 11 -Our Guiding Light

Reverberant engines hum from the airship as bustling dock personnel work tirelessly in preparation for its departure to Beacon Academy. As more and more of my future classmates flock to its gate with loaded suitcases, I can only shuffle slightly and stare out into the distance, waiting for Bumblebee to show up with its two passengers.

"She's running it close," grumbles Tai, tapping his foot as he takes yet another glimpse at the time.

"They'll be here," I say assuredly. Yang could've easily became a professional motorcycle racer if she wanted to. She'll make sure they'll be here on time. Tai sighs, folding his arms and leaning back against his motorcycle. I can hardly blame him for being a little worried: the four of us did leave at the same time after all. I rode with him on the way here, he was pretty insistent that I did so, as Yang and Ruby sped ahead almost immediately. At their rate, we both figured that they'd arrive at the airship before us.

Not so, apparently.

"Do you want me to call them? Find out where they are?" I offer, flashing my Scroll. He gives it a glance, the wheels in his head turning as he chews his lip.

"No..." He replies faintly, before affirming himself with another, "No. You're right. They'll be here in time." His hand kneads into his neck. "I'm just being a silly old worrywart as usual," he remarks ruefully with a chuckle. "I can't believe I'm losing all three of you at the same time."

"Will... you be okay? On your own, I mean," I ask him, tugging at the straps of my rucksack. Like always, he waves me off.

"Hey, you don't have to worry. I have Zwei to keep me company. Besides, this could actually be a good thing." He leans off of his bike, stretching out his arms. "It's been a while since my last mission. Without Yang, I would've had to stay home more often to look after Ruby. It'll be nice to get back in the field again." I smile softly. I know that Tai's nothing but proud at the fact that his two daughters are attending Beacon but, it's nice that he's found a silver-lining for himself.

Still, it was rather sudden. Ruby told us everything after Tai frantically picked her up from the Police Station: the robbery, the Huntress, that... Torchwood guy? After all that, Professor Ozpin waltzed into the Station and offered her a place at Beacon Academy.

Ruby certainly has a habit of being at the right place at the right time.

"There they are!" Tai calls out, finger out-stretched towards a yellow and black motorcycle rolling up in the distance. As it comes screeching to a halt in front of us, wheels spinning and kicking up dirt all over the place, we can just barely make out the rushed words spewing from Yang's mouth.

"Okay, you've definitely got pajamas?" Immediately as the bike stops, Ruby jumps off and storms to grab her suitcase from the back.

"Yes," Ruby grits, as she forcefully pulls her luggage out.

"You've got spare outfits?" She asks again, listing off with her fingers.

"Yes," Ruby growls.

"Scroll's all charged up?" Again.

"Yang," the younger sibling futilely attempts to stop her sister's fussing.

"You have Lien?"

"Yang-"

"What about shampoo? How about comics for the ride? Oh! Did you grab your toothbrush? What about-"

"Yang!" Ruby howls, finally giving herself an opening to speak. "I've got everything, okay?! I'm totally prepared." Yang goes to open her mouth but her sister is quick to cut her off with a hand. "Yes! I'm sure! I've checked," she levels with a glare. "Fifteen times." The older sibling raises her hands up in defence.

"I can't help it! I have to make sure my precious little sister has everything for her big day!" She lets out a squee. A very loud squee. "My little sister's coming to Beacon with me! I can't believe it!" She hops up and down like a hyperactive jackhammer. "Oh! Come here, you!" Without warning, Yang scoops up Ruby into a hug that seems to be less cuddle and more tackle.

"Hrk!" She coughs out, her puny arms fruitlessly trying to push her older sister away. "Yang!" Another throaty cough follows her vehement glaring. "Get off!" As I watch the chaos unfold before me, I feel an elbow prod my arm.

"You're stuck with them, you know," he remarks with a smirk. The forced embrace soon turns into a loud scuffle as Tai winces. "I... better go break that up." He hastily rushes towards them, leaving me to observe the poor man attempt to pry his children away from each other. I can't help but stifle a smile at the sight of the muscular man struggling with all his might to pull his daughters apart. It's nothing I haven't adjusted to by now.

After a herculean effort on Tai's part, the pair have been split apart and the rest of their bags have finally been unloaded from Bumblebee. Groaning heavily, Tai scratches at his scalp.

"One of these days," he starts. "You two are going to make my hair fall out." It might just be my imagination, but I think I saw Yang flinch at those words. "Alright," he lets out a gust of air. "You all know where you're supposed to go when you land, right?" In our respective tempos, we all nod. I'm not entirely comfortable with joining in with them but, it'd feel far more awkward if I didn't. "Good. Okay. There will be somebody take your bags on your way in. Yang, you'll need to take Bumblebee up to vehicle storage. It'll need to be processed separately from the rest of your stuff."

Yang acknowledges with a clear, "Gotcha." Tai continues.

"So, Yang has the map. She'll know where to go for the Induction ceremony and the teachers will tell you everything that'll happen from there. Any questions?" He cues us to say something. I just shake my head while Yang and Ruby answer with a peppy, "Nah," and "Nope," respectively. Tai takes our answers as a vote of confidence, clapping his hands together. "Great! Okay! You three better hurry. The airship will be ready to leave in about-" A sound blare booms out from the airship behind us. Tai's mouth is left unhinged from the noise so, I think I'll finish for him.

The airship's about to leave.

"Uh oh," squeaks Ruby.

"Grab everything and book it!" Shouts Yang, hauling her suitcase onto her shoulder and using her spare arm to push Bumblebee towards the entrance. Her sister grabs a hold of her suitcase, dragging it along before the pair give their father a quick hug.

"See ya, Dad!" Rushes Ruby.

"We'll call you when we settle in!" Yelps Yang. Tai can only stand there, fumbling over his words as his daughters depart for the airship. Seeing them both almost fall over themselves in their haste makes me all the gladder that I packed light. Not that I had much to begin with.

"Thank you!" I bow my head, turning on my heels to follow suit.

"Eren," his voice stops me. I twist my head around to meet him. He looks like he wants to ask me something but the words fail him for whatever reason he has. "You..." He starts, the words fading before he speaks again. "You know you can always call me if you're having trouble, okay?" That's... totally like him to offer but, why would he hold back on telling me something like that? I nod back at him.

"I will. Thank you," I reply gratefully.

"Come on, Eren!" Yang yells. Oh! That's right! Don't want to be late!

"Coming!" I call back, sprinting after them towards the airship.

Boarding the airship, the three of us are greeted by the somewhat luxurious and surprisingly spacious passenger suite. Unlike what I'm usually used to when flying, there aren't any seats or rows, but a single viewing gallery complete with two large windows on each side. At the far end, I see another door leading deeper into the hull but I'm not sure what's down there exactly. Just before we got on, we were told to stay in the main suite until the 'Introduction,' concludes. Whatever that is.

In the meantime, we're to stay here. As we enter, Yang takes the initiative and locates a spot for the three of us to hang out for the time being. The two sisters chatter about whatever comes to mind while I'm more than happy to listen.

Though I do pipe up every now and again whenever is suitable, my attention continually flickers between them and the hologram broadcasting the news. I keep thinking that something interesting will soon turn up on it, but the best that's come up so far is something about the Vale council meeting about the policy of 'Blah, blah, politics, blah.' It's nothing I haven't heard from the last six months of watching Vale news. Throw in another senseless murder and you'll have the last five years down to a tee.

I zone back into the conversation.

"You should be proud of what you did! It was amazing!" Yang cheers. She turns around wearing a proud grin on her face. "Tell her, Eren!"

"Uh," I say dumbly, eyes wide as I'm suddenly put on the spot. Figures. I stop listening for five seconds and I feel like I've been dropped into an entirely different conversation. Well, I suppose I can only tell her the obvious then. "You're amazing?"

"You have no idea what we're talking about, do you?" Ruby says dryly. I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly. There's no fooling her. How does they always know?

"Sorry," I admit. In the corner of my eye, I can see Yang roll her eyes slightly.

"Ruby's being all humble about the whole stopping an armed robbery thing," she tells me. "Even though, it was crazy awesome and she should own it. Like right now."

"It really isn't that big of a deal," Ruby says rubbing her arm. Despite the amount of praise being heaped on her, it doesn't seem to be having the effect that Yang is looking for.

"Of course, it's a big deal! It's all over the news!" She exclaims, nodding her head towards the news broadcast. "Everyone at Beacon's bound to find out. They'll know just how much of an awesome fighter you are!" Her words of encouragement only succeed in making Ruby's eye dim slightly.

"That's..." She drifts off.

"You don't want people to think you're cool?" I ask her softly to which she responds by shaking her head.

"No, that's not it. I just..." She sighs lightly. "I don't want people treating me differently just because I skipped two years." There's a pause between us. I try to think of something comforting to say, but none of the words feel like they're the correct ones to use. I second-guess them, move them around and try to figure out something feasible to cheer her up but... I don't know what those are exactly.

I opt to stay quiet. Remaining silent and not making anything worse is better than saying something harmful or worse, stupid.

"Geez. What is up with you two?" Yang groans, breaking the silence and wrapping her arms around our shoulders like she's trying to ensnare us. "Guys, lighten up. We did it! We're going to Beacon! All three of us! Isn't that awesome?!" As her excitement rises, her clutch tightens along with it, crushing us both with her immense strength and forcing the air out of our lungs with a dusty croak.

"Gah! Y-Yang! Knock it off!" Ruby cries out but her sister is far too enraptured in the 'embrace' to notice.

"Kh! H-have her hugs always been this forceful?" I cough, legs slowly leaving the ground.

"N-nope! It's actually pretty soft this time!" She grits. Oh god, this isn't even the worst of it? I can't tell whether I should be grateful it's not too bad, terrified that it can get worse, or concerned that I can't feel my left arm anymore. Why do my friends always have to be so... personal?

"In other news, this Saturday's Faunus civil rights protest turned dark," the news presenter announces. My eyes meet the screen immediately. "When members of the White fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful-" I tune her out, remaining fixated on the flag appearing in the corner. White with the head of a sharp toothed monster protruding out from razor sharp claw marks smearing the white like it's been painted in blood.

The White Fang. Out of all the new names I've learned in the past six months, that's one that keeps popping up more times than I'd like. It reminds me too much of something we have back home. Far, far too much.

Long story short: they were once ambassadors for peace between Humans and Faunus, a divide I still find difficulty understanding, and when their peaceful tactics stopped working they resorted to more... violent methods. What I see before me today is what resulted from that drastic change. Before, they lobbied for peace. Now, they're basically a group of terrorists who hate Humans with a passion. Even when I'm so far away, some things just love to stay the same.

The entire thing just makes me sad. The last thing I'd want is the Faunus to be separated from us. I really want to find out more about them. They're really interesting.

Suddenly, the broadcast cuts out and from it, a mature blonde woman with glasses appears in its place.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon," she greets us with a strict yet gentle tone. As she continues talking, the woman introduces herself as Miss 'Glynda Goodwitch,' one of our future teachers at Beacon. Most of what she's saying isn't anything we didn't know before, it's pretty much just for formalities.

As her speech ends, the hologram fades away opening up the view to Vale that I've been neglecting to admire throughout the entire trip. I look down at the Kingdom, practically gluing myself to the glass. The view is just as good as I remember, better even. Inside, driving around, I felt like I was just a dot in something grand but from here, being so far above in the sky, it gives you an even clearer scale of just how massive this place really is. How busy it all is: how active it all is, just how alive it truly is.

My sister would love this place. She'd find the diversity in the rich architecture so enthralling.

I wonder how they're doing...

"Woah..." Ruby gushes beside me. "Hey, Yang! Look! You can see Signal from here!"

"Really? Let me see," she responds eagerly, tapping me on the shoulder. "Move over a bit, Eren?" It barely counts as a request but I understand what she means, acknowledging with a nod. I step away from the window, giving Yang a bit more space to stand next to her sister, as my ears pick up some sort of... gagging noise?

Bump.

Another body connects with my back. The impact almost topples me, like the paperweight that I am, but I manage to work with the momentum.

"S-sorry! I'm so sorry!" I blurt out, swerving around. In front of me is a tall blonde guy, wearing a white plate of armour over what looks to be a black hoodie. "U-uh, a-a-are you okay?" I ask. I don't think he heard me however, as he staggers away with his hands muffling his panicked voice, darting towards the far end of the bridge.

"Wha- Hey!" A girl squeals as a horrid...

Oh. Oh dear.

"Eww! That's so gross! Urgh, it's all over the floor!" Ruby retches. The rest of the deck seem to be on the same page as similar outcries of disgust flood the cabin. Those who didn't see it happen find out pretty quickly from the nauseous smell reeking from the front. My eyes snap away from the mess as the blood rushes to my face. Did... Did I cause that?

"Ruby! Ruby, look at Eren's face! He's bright red!" Yang points to my face as she keels over laughing. I try to hide my intense blushing underneath my hood. This is just so mortifying.

"Blech! He's even got it all over her white dress!" Ruby blenches.

"Well, it's not white anymore! Oh my gosh, I can't breathe!"

Someone please kill me. I don't want to live anymore.

Our other classmates start heading towards the Academy as the drama continues to unfold right before our very eyes. The guy, 'Vomitboy' as Ruby so affectionately nicknamed him, is dealing with the girl from before ranting and raving at him with little to any success of calming her down.

The girl is quite a petite little thing, she's almost as slim as I am. With her white hair tied up into a ponytail hanging off the side of her head: her pale white complexion, her cold looking skin, and her... previously white dress, she could be mistaken for the Lady in White.

Several butlers swarm to the girl's side, frantically trying to undo the damage caused with damp sponges and multiple buckets of water all while their young mistress is screeching her head off like a demented banshee.

"Sheesh. She's laying into him hard," Yang comments, folding her arms.

"Yeah. Poor guy," Ruby agrees with a nod, giving Vomitboy a sympathetic look. I rub at my neck, feeling a little guilty for what happened. Ruby and Yang would probably call me a Drama Queen for thinking so but, I can't shake the feeling that this wouldn't have happened if I didn't bump into him like a complete dolt.

"Maybe, I should... do something?" I suggest, twiddling my fingers. Yang raises an eye at my suggestion.

"Uh, Eren? Don't take this the wrong way or anything but, I don't think you'd be much help. See that?" She points as several servants' rush to pick up the girl's copious amounts of suitcases. "That's hell. Don't walk into it."

"Yeah, you're right..." I reply, dropping my head slightly. It's not like I had much of a plan besides waving my arms pleading, 'No! No! Please stop!' Solving disputes has never been my forte anyhow. My head perks up slightly as I notice Yang's eyes shifting around us. Looking the empty space beside her, I quickly catch on to why.

"Hey. Where'd Ruby g- Oh. Ruby!" She groans loudly, spotting her sister further down towards the courtyard tailing one student before quickly switching to another. Following them for their weapons no doubt. My body sags slightly. Yang seems to feel the same way. "Gah! I leave her alone for two seconds and she wanders off! We need to get her a leash." She huffs indignantly. "Well, we better get her back before she wanders off and gets lost," She pauses. "Again."

We will never let her live that down, I swear. Still, I give the scenario a sigh as I quietly trail after Yang. As expected, Ruby's been trailing after other student's weapons like a love-struck child drunk on sugar. A normal day for our Ruby, come to think of it. The pair of us close in, I think I catch a drop of drool drip from her mouth, as her ears twitch and she spins around to meet me.

"Eren! Eren! Look!" She points me specifically towards the jolting sheathe of one of the passing students. From a glance, it doesn't appear too different from any other wacky and crazily designed sword sheathe. However, what's really peeking Ruby's interest is the type of material the sheathe is made from. The name alludes me, it's something fancy I'm sure, but I do know from Ruby that it's a highly durable flame retardant commonly used in several different kinds of locomotives throughout the Kingdoms. Which means...

"A fire sword?" I answer. Ruby bobs her head.

"Yeah! Yeah! It even has a temperature modulator. Isn't that so cool?!" She responds, absolutely giddy.

"Well, it's a fire sword so I'm pretty sure it's really hot," Yang snarks, earning herself a weak glare from her little sister. I'd imagine the modulator is on there for additional safety reasons. Lord knows I feel pretty uncomfortable carrying Warbreaker around with just a safety catch, let alone heaving around the chaotic love-child of a lightsabre and a flamethrower with the only thing standing between you and a burnt leg is a simple switch. No thank you.

Actually, come to think of it...

"Isn't having our weapons on-campus pretty... dangerous?" I ask cautiously. The pair blink at my question before Ruby scoffs lightly and shakes her head.

"Nah, not really. Huntsmen with weapons is a pretty common sight in the kingdoms. We're kinda trusted to use them properly," She answers. I think over her answer with a hum. It's a simple answer, always is from Ruby, and I suppose it's not too farfetched for us to be trusted on something like weapon safety. We are supposed to protect them from the Grimm after all. If the people can't trust us to not keep them safe from ourselves, how in the world could they trust us to protect them from the Grimm? It may feel irresponsible but, if the police and the military back home had to be trusted with their weapons, what makes us so different?

Still, the temptation is always there.

"Oh! That reminds me! Can I see Violet Vigil for a second?" Ruby asks, hold out her arms.

"Monthly check-up?" I reply warmly, taking Warbreaker off my back.

"Heheh. Yeah, just a quick one though. I'm sure she's alright," she assures me, gently taking my rifle from me. As she quickly goes to work checking that all the kinks are still working probably. At worst, there might be a little rust here and there but that's pushing it a little. Ruby's mandatory gun checks along with her valuable advice have made sure that Warbreaker's clean, clear and working at its absolute best.

"Violet Vigil?" Yang leans in.

"It was one of the names she suggested for my gun.," I shrug. "She prefers it over Warbreaker so, I just let her call it that." Violet Vigil was just one of the many, many names she suggested for Warbreaker when we finished. Along with Violet Splinter: Violet Bomb, Violet Petal... She really likes the name 'Violet. No idea why.

"Ooh..." Her face scrunches up slightly. "Wait, since when was Warbreaker a 'She?'"

"Uh..." I smile unevenly, scratching my neck. "I-it's a... little complicated. I'll tell you some other time." It involves a roundabout discussion about boys preferring their cars to be girls or something along those lines. It was a conversation that my cousin probably would've enjoyed. It's no skin off my nose so, I just let her call Warbreaker whatever she wants.

Ruby closes the loading chamber with a click. That's her routine finished, though I notice her lips begin to purse.

"Hm. Everything seems to be good but..." She gives me the look. Right. The last part of her routine. "You know what I'm going to tell you, right?" I let out a breath, gingerly taking the black and blue gun off her hands.

"I know. I know, but I like it this way. It's simple, easy to use," I say, pressing the stock against my shoulder casually for emphasis. Sure, it's not the flashiest weapon on Remnant but, it works fine all the same. The recoil doesn't even bother me anymore so, I won't have that working against me when I'm out in the field. I like my little Warbreaker. I think it's perfect for me. Ruby disagrees.

"Too simple. She's way underpowered, especially as your primary," she points out. She's not exactly wrong. Most Huntsman in Remnant tend to focus on having a nice strong close-range offense and have long range as backup. Hell, some fighters forgo the long-range capabilities altogether and become absolutely indomitable. The few fighters that do prefer long-range like myself tend to focus on heavier weaponry like rocket-launchers or these strange energy weapons which were far too expensive to make. Without that extra kick, Warbreaker isn't exactly a huge damage dealer.

I still like it, and it's not like I have the body strength to deal with something that powerful anyway. One press of the trigger and shoulder would shatter like sugar glass.

"I think she'll be okay for now but, you're really gonna have to think about modifying her at some point. That, or making a new gun altogether," she says the last part half-heartedly.

"Yeah, that's true," I admit a little glumly. Having to readjust to the gun again, new or not sounds like an absolute pain. Still, if she's that adamant about it... "I'll think about it."

"Don't do the second thing though. I think she has a lot of potential for mods. The barrel: the flash, the stock. Get rid of the stupid bayonet and you can do a whole lot with that space. Replace it with something way better!" Ruby's eyes light up. "Ooh! Maybe a chainsa-"

"T-t-thanks for the advice, Ruby!" I cut her off hastily, the pitch of my voice rising in my panic. "I'll put it to good use! Heh. Heh..." Seriously, what is with her and chainsaws?

"Okay, enough of the gun talk you guys. We'd better head to this induction ceremony thing. Come on! Let's go!" She beckons, leading the way for us to follow. Ruby skips after her quite merrily. I let out another breath as I stare up at the Academy I've been yearning to attend for so long.

Beacon Academy. I'm finally here.

A/N: Well, this took longer than I hoped. I didn't expected the transition between original scenes and the altered canon scenes to feel this treacherous. Before, all I had to worry about was what I wanted to accomplish in each chapter and making that the canon characters are written properly - still not sure how I did on that last one honestly. Now, I have to worry about which story elements to alter: what I can do with those alterations in the long run and most importantly, how to present both changed and unchanged elements in a way that feels natural and interesting to read.

It's fun stuff being a writer~

In response to the guest review by Blinky, thank you very much for the review! I'm glad you're getting into the story despite your concerns. If you begin to feel that Eren's character is going in the wrong direction, feel free to let me know.

Anyway, I have thought about maybe including other teams during the initiation but, I have a very perculiar way of choosing the teams and adding more than two would turn it into a complete narrative mess. Managing so many changes would be far too much hassle to deal with and portraying them all naturally would be a complete pain. Plus, the initiation is supposed to serve as the first major event where the story diverges from canon. CRDL and the OCs -obviously- don't have much relevance to the canon plot beyond Cardin's bullying and I'm a bit skeptical whether or not he's going to be of any importance down the line.

If you're still interested in CRDL getting more characterization, you're in luck! They're going to have a role in the coming arc and Cardin's character especially is going to be expanded upon. OC characters will be included a little later on, just so readers can get used to the new dynamics first.

Though, about the relics, if I recall correctly during the initiation, there were ten relics on each side. I think how it worked was that you had the pairs of Bishop: Rook and Knight, then the King and Queen together and finally, a pair of Pawns which totals to ten teams. I had to look that up again just in-case. Since neither King/Queen or Pawns were mentioned during the team ceremony, it's easy to forget those pieces were there.

Still, would be pretty bloody awkward for SIs who used the Pawn as justification for the fifth member trope. Instead of getting 'the special piece,' they're essentially muddling up the entire team process by nicking a Pawn piece without a partner and never meeting up with their real teammates. That's a bit of a bugger.

Thank you very much for reading. What do you think of the story so far? Good? Bad? Let me know in the reviews. Constructive criticism is encouraged.